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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Avant Homes has signed up to build a further 61 homes, the company's first, at the Waverley development in Rotherham.

Landowner and developer, Harworth Group plc has sold the eighth phase of engineered housing land at Waverley – totalling 4.7 acres – to Avant Homes in a deal worth £2.5m.

Avant Homes, the housebuilder formerly known as Gladedale Group, becomes the fourth housebuilder at Waverley, following on from the homes built by Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Harron Homes. Over 600 homes have been built over the past four years on the site which is Yorkshire's largest-ever brownfield redevelopment, with Harworth delivering a new community of 3,890 homes.

Plot HC5 was initially coming forward with Harron Homes as the housebuilder but new plans have been submitted for a range of dwellings on land formerley known as Highfield Commercial close to Marston's Winter Green pub. The development is to be known as Sorby Row.

Owen Michaelson, chief executive officer of Harworth Group plc, said: "We are delighted to welcome Avant to Waverley. Avant have a proven track record of delivering high-quality homes elsewhere in our portfolio and increasing the number of points of sale at the development matures the site – delivering further value and diversifying risk."

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Waverley is also home to the world-renowned Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) where Harworth expects to reach practical completion on a number of directly developed units totalling 52,000 sq ft at the end of March.

Following on from the success of the two previous phases which are all now fully let, Harworth intends to hold and lease the new space to growing advanced manufacturing firms.

Built by JF Finnegan ans comprising five units within two terraces, these will be practically complete at the end of this month and will provide modern industrial space in a market with only a limited supply of available stock.

This follows recent announcements from McLaren and Boeing to create new facilities close to the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre within the Sheffield-Rotherham Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.

Michaelson added: "These announcements underpin Waverley's credentials as one of the North of England's most successful and important brownfield redevelopments, which forms the cornerstone of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.

"Nearing practical completion of speculative units at the AMP also underpins our confidence in the site as a key advanced manufacturing hub for the UK, and we look forward to welcoming new tenants into these units once complete."

Detailed plans are also close to being submitted for the £50m retail, office and leisure development at the heart of Waverley. Here Harworth has teamed up with Dransfield Properties, the Barnsley-based company that specialises in retail led regeneration scheme.